Before you hire an editor…

You may notice I’ve added an Editing Services tab to the menu.

At the urging of my writer friends and ever-supportive husband, I’ve finally decided to offer my services to the public. I’ve been writing since I was about six (a fully-illustrated book all about my new bike–a very deep piece of literature), so my skills have had nineteen years to develop.

I received a Bachelor of Arts degree in English Literary Studies in 2010, which involved taking the following classes (with my final grade in parentheses):

Writing About Literature (4)
Creative Writing (3.5)
Language/Linguistics (4)
Advanced Composition (4)
Poetry Writing (4)

Any writer will tell you one of the most important parts of writing is reading, and I also took twelve literature classes, all of which resulted in a final grade of 3.5 or 4.

I’ve been writing professionally for about five years, and in that short time frame I’ve published approximately twenty short stories, poems, and novels under the pen name Heather Lin and an additional twenty or so short stories, poems, blog posts (not including personal), and even newspaper articles under my given name. None of these include self-published works.

Most importantly, I am damn good at what I do.

I am a self-proclaimed lit snob.

I am the person that wants to take a red pen to professional publications and mail it back to the publisher.

I am the person lamenting the loss of the Oxford comma.

I am the person who finds a label like this

 

and posts it on the internet because I am that annoyed it was allowed to leave the factory.

If you’re the average person, my habits can get really annoying. If you’re in need of an editor, they’re an undeniable asset.

If you have a project you’d like me to consider, drop me a line.

But before you do…

…read On Writing by Stephen King. It is the best book about the craft I have ever read.

If you think you know all there is to know about writing, read it.

If you know nothing about writing, read it.

It will give you hope and something to relate to. It will teach you not just about the art of writing, but also about the industry. And there are a few poignant parts that nearly brought me to tears.

This is the first thing I recommend to any aspiring writer–young or old, horror fan or not.

After you read what King has to say, you may find your eyes are a little more open, and you may be able to do a lot of the trimming and correcting your work needs all on your own.